Psychology Degree Salary

A Psychology degree salary can be very lucrative for individuals who complete an academic program in psychology. A psychology degree involves the study of the mind and exploring various topics like human behavior, emotional development, gender, and mental illnesses. Psychology degrees are offered at every degree level and graduates have a wide opportunity of career options.

Colleges and universities that are ranked to have top psychology degree programs include Harvard University and the University of California Berkeley. Harvard University has been offering psychology degrees since the late 1880s. It offers an undergraduate concentration in psychology with tracks in social and cognitive neurosciences, secondary field in psychology, and mind, brain, and behavior. Harvard also offers a graduate program with five major research concentrations: social, clinical science, organizational behavior, developmental, and cognition, brain, and behavior. The University of California Berkeley offers a bachelor’s degree program in psychology and students must have at least a 3.2 GPA in all prerequisite courses. The school also offers a graduate program and enables students to concentrate in behavioral neuroscience, clinical science, social-personality, change, plasticity, and development, and cognition, brain, and behavior.

Psychology Degree Salary Details

The salary for individuals with a psychology degree depends on many different factors, including specific job title, location, education, experience, benefits, and performance on the job. In general, the starting salary for bachelor’s degree holders is around $40,000 per year. Those with graduate degrees typically start out around $55,000 annually. And individuals holding doctoral degrees have average starting salaries around $63,000.

Examples of specific job titles for people with psychology degrees include counselors, school psychologists, and clinical psychologists. The average annual salary for counselors is around $48,000 per year; school psychologist $59,000; and clinical psychologist $81,000.

In general, the psychology jobs that pay the most require an advanced degree, either at the doctoral level or even completing medical school. For example, psychiatrists earn an average of $168,000 annually. The psychology jobs that are in the highest demand are those that involve treating individuals with mental illness. There will be an increased demand for psychology professionals in mental health centers, hospitals, and schools. For example, the need for clinical and counseling psychologists and psychiatrists will increase as more and more people seek help for various issues. Additionally, as the numbers of people in academic environments grow, more school psychologists will be needed.

Individuals with a psychology degree can maximize their salaries in many different ways. One possible approach is furthering their education at the master’s degree or doctoral degree levels to gain advanced knowledge in a branch of psychology and seeking specialized positions. Another possible way is acquiring extensive experience in a particular sub-field of psychology. A lot of high paid psychology professionals start out at mental health facilities or group private practices and then eventually open up their own practices after a significant amount of time. The psychology degree salary can be extremely fruitful for those seeking to pursue rewarding careers in the mental health field.